Love and passion, cutting up the wasteland

Kaidun City, the forging capital that dominates the south and is located in the Bone Wasteland where beasts gather, has always stood firm.

Towers stand tall, gurgling black smoke pours out; city gates open and close, and fleets of vehicles come and go. This city-state is like a giant beast that swallows gold and iron, swallowing all kinds of ores, and then spits out neat and sharp soldiers. First.

They are marked with different logos and transported to various parts of the world in ant-like caravans. If you look carefully at the emblems on it, you can even find a lot of hostile forces: when they were fighting to the death, the weapons they wielded were actually created by the same manufacturer.

Kaidun City, Scrap Master.

Unlike other city-states in the Southern Union City, the status of the sword-wearing nobles was maintained purely by blood; and it was also different from the north after the disintegration of the traditional aristocratic families, where the robe-wearing merchant nobles determined victory or defeat based on the amount of their assets.

In Kaidun City, only by controlling the armor production line and becoming a member of the Scrap Master can you accumulate the greatest wealth; but only the most powerful families with pure blood in the city-state can participate in the forging business. Come and form a monopoly.

For the first time, the identities of United City's powerful people and business people were so unified. It is also for this reason that, in the context of the separation and confrontation between the sword-wearing nobles and the robed nobles, the Scrap Master Group in Kaiton City is not very keen on participating in the battle for positions, although it is located in the south.

Stay alone.

Because they wanted to dump the armor to the entire continent, they needed a complete transportation and trade network, so Kaidun City even maintained close ties with the merchant guilds.

At a time when the entire South United City is in decline, Kaiton City relies on its excellent technology, large-scale industries, and just the right balance of resources to buck the trend and thrive.

It's just that it's a situation where both ends are eaten.

It seems to be about to break.

Noble mansion.

The lord of Kaidun City, Tenshin Shiro, is entertaining guests.

As a great lord, there are not many people and occasions worthy of his personal appearance, which means that the other party must at least be someone with a matching status.

The status of the guest in front of you.

That's it.

A waiter stood respectfully beside him, reciting a long list of gifts in his hand, which included everything from pure coins, gold and silver jewelry, to carriages, cloth, farm property and slaves.

Just for its value.

It's definitely a great gift.

As Master Shiro listened, there was no philistine or joyful smile on his face, but a solemn look on his face.

Finally, as the gift list was signed and the waiter's sonorous voice ended, he finally let out a breath, leaned forward and looked at the person in front of him and asked: "Mrs. Grace, what do you mean?"

The person in front of you.

It is the lord of Colons City, Lady Grace.

She was draped in brocade silk and satin, highlighting her curvaceous curves. When she heard Shiro's question, she laughed and said, "Isn't it a little weird for Master Shiro to say that? When our ancestors founded the country with swords and fought hard, we were both the same. It's no big deal for comrades to trust each other with their lives and lives...Now that their descendants are gathering together like this and reciprocating with each other, is there any special reason needed?"

"You don't have to deal with this with me." Tenshin Shiro sneered, "If we were really as close as you said, we wouldn't be in this situation - as for you, Grace, I know even more clearly that you are absolutely a useless person. The Lord who cannot benefit early.”

What's more, no matter what.

A great lord of a city-state goes to another city-state in person... Unless invited by a true close friend or close alliance, or to be crowned as emperor of the empire, no great noble will leave his territory easily.

This is indeed a rare situation.

Seeing that the lord of Caiton City had no intention of making excuses with her, Grace stopped her business smile and showed a serious look on her face.

Shiro was waiting for the other party to say something to explain his purpose, but he saw a slender and beautiful short knife appear in her palm.

The guards standing around were shocked.

They all held down their weapons and were about to unsheath them.

The other party had a distinguished status and could not force a detailed body search when visiting. They also did not expect that Grace would actually go against convention and carry a sharp knife with her when meeting with Lord Shiro, who was also a great lord.

Now they are at the same table.

Could it be that he wanted to be assassinated?

"Quiet." Shiro pressed his palm down to stop his subordinates' actions. He secretly clenched his other fist, but said calmly: "Grace, do you really want to do something? You and I. Among them, only Madman Meilin has reached the legion level by relying on his own strength. As for your triangular cat skills, you are not even as good as me..."

As city-state lords, they don't need to go out to fight in person, but with so many resources in their hands, they can have considerable strength just by fighting hard.

In addition, the sword-carrying nobles still have a martial spirit.

Many people have the ability to protect themselves even when facing ordinary assassins alone - this makes the few cases of successful assassination even more valuable.

Moreover, the reason why Shiro is so confident is not only because of his understanding of Grace's strength, but also because of the set of stainless steel inner armor he wears under his luxurious dress.

It has been passed down from the ancestors of the Tianxin family.

It is said that every component was made by the current head of the family who found the most preferred waste master in Kaiton City and worked hard to ensure the quality.

Finally, they are gradually spliced ​​together.

Only half of the complete set of blueprints has been completed so far, and it can barely be used as a set of inner armor... Its quality is even more masterpiece-level.

It’s even harder to imagine what it will look like when it’s completely finished.

Shiro is confident,

Just sit here and let Grace chop.

They may not be able to defeat the defense.

However, the lady showed her light knife, and then she made no overstepping actions.

She held the handle of the knife in one hand and the blade in the other.

It actually looked like offering a knife.

"Please." Grace said.

Shiro glanced at her and motioned to the guards around him to come forward to get the knife and put it into his hands. He used words to cover up his confusion: "This is also a gift you gave me..."

As the lord of Kaidun City, he has seen countless famous swords.

It's hard to find a weapon that can still make his heart flutter.

Grace said nothing.

And just when Shiro took the knife and was about to continue playing with it, a emblem flashed in his eyes, and his movements suddenly stopped.

The short knife slipped from his palm.

It was about to fall.

The guard next to Shiro had quick eyes and quick hands and stepped forward to pick him up.

At this time, both Shiro and Grace reacted, but neither of them had the intention to move. The latter even had a smile on his lips, watching the guard's movement of reaching out with interest.

Chi.

"Ah, ah ah ah!"

Immediately, with a scream, three fingers were cut off at the root. The guard's fingers were cut off just by the falling blade.

Blood splattered everywhere.

bite.

Immediately afterwards, the tip of the short blade fell to the ground.

Directly penetrated the white jade ground.

"...Go down." Shiro came back to his senses, looked at the guard who was holding his hand and gasping and said with disdain, "You can touch this inscription blade casually."

What he just saw.

It's the cross pattern on the inscription blade.

"……yes."

The guard resisted the pain and picked up his severed finger. He didn't have time to bandage it, so he put the wound in his hand into his mouth. While cleaning up the blood on the ground, he excused himself in a vague voice.

He did this not to heal his wounds, but just because he was worried that his blood would pollute the Lord's ground again.

The two nobles took it for granted. Tenshin Shiro's attention was completely focused on the short sword in front of him: "...Is this the one passed down by your Colons family?"

Mingren·Richa.

This type of off-hand weapon, which can be used to disembowel and pierce the gaps in the enemy's armor, is originally known for its extreme sharpness, and only their inscribed blades can cause people to be cut just by touching the edge.

"That's right." Grace nodded, looking at Ming Ren with an unconcealable reluctance, "Such a gift... Lord Tianxin, do you dare to accept it?"

Shiro swallowed.

The scrap master group in Kaiton City is good at forging appreciation. Not to mention the grades and commercial products named after the city-state [Kaidon City], they themselves can use the Skeleton Craftsman-level weapons, and the relics of the Blade Walkers Tenshin Shiro I also have a lot of collections...but the Tianxin family just doesn't have one of their own inscribed blades.

Dating back to the founding of the country.

They, Kaidun City, are rising stars after all.

Those who can possess the Ming Blade are all truly established nobles, and this may also be the last threshold for them to reach the top aristocratic families in the empire.

However, Grace's question was heard.

Tenshin Shiro did not agree immediately. He shook his head first and then said: "Grace, if you had told me who you wanted to see earlier, just say it...why bother talking so much."

The other party just called him by his family name.

rather than the real name.

In fact, it has already hinted at the intention.

"That way, can I see him?" Grace asked.

Shiro thought for a moment, shook his head and said, "It really doesn't work."

"Brother, he doesn't want to see you."

"But now," he then changed his words: "Except for my brother, no one else is qualified to accept such a gift."

"Follow me." Shiro stood up.

Go meet the general who guards the southern region of the empire. He is considered a leader even among war-level people——

Tianxin is righteous.

…

…

To everyone's surprise, the home where the famous General Tianxin lives is neither as luxurious as the noble residence of the city lord nor as serious and neat as a military camp... If I must say it, this place is more like a temple.

In order to develop the forging and smelting industry, the trees and vegetation in Kaidun City and the surrounding dozens of miles have been cut down and burned into furnace coal. Some scrap masters said that only the armor made in this way can be regarded as having a soul.

But outside the General's Mansion, there are two ancient trees in the sky, with green leaves that shade people.

Wisps of green smoke drifted out from the lobby.

With a scent of sandalwood.

Here, there are indeed fireworks.

And very quiet.

Until a man in a linen robe let out a long sigh, breaking the slightly Zen atmosphere.

He was sitting on the futon, and his specific age could not be seen from his appearance. It only made people think that he should be quite young. However, as the adopted brother of the current city lord Tenshin Shiro, he had already started to act like a teenager when he was adopted. He went into battle to kill the enemy, but his younger brother was still just a swaddled baby.

Today, the great lord Tenshin Shiro is already a mature middle-aged man, but Tenshin's upright appearance still seems to be frozen in the past.

Young and sharp.

It's like time stopped flowing.

"Why did General Tianxin sigh?" Another voice came to mind in the lobby - there was actually another guest here.

The guest noticed that the Union City general had just retracted his gaze outside the room.

"I feel like there will be trouble coming to my door... It's a bit difficult to deal with." Tenshin Rizheng said calmly, "But I have to help."

"Is there anything in this world that the general would find troublesome?" The guest thought he was joking and followed his words.

"If you must say it, it's too much..." The general's eyes drifted into the distance, as if they were merged into the blue smoke of nothingness.

The vicious tricks of Northern Long En are hard to guard against, and the machine in the East is so powerful that it cannot be touched... But he still needs to use them to check and balance each other, and no one can be offended.

Even not long ago, the returning southern spy was assassinated in the military camp. The whole city was shaken, and he was not allowed to travel in armor.

The other side seemed afraid to engage in a head-on battle.

But he couldn't catch him.

Just let it go gently.

This incident revealed another conspiracy of Long En's lackey, the noble attendant. This may be why Grace from the city of Colons came... But there seems to be something fishy behind it, which makes Tian Xinli Zheng still undecided. .

However, he would definitely not say this to others. The general just looked at the guest with a joking look in his eyes: "If you want to talk about 'trouble', isn't there one right in front of me?"

"Am I right? Watcher of the Depression Lagoon."

When the guest heard the other party refer to him, he scratched his head and said: "So this is how the general sees me."

"Of course, if you don't leave and are discovered by my brother and foreign guests, your secret collusion with the general of the Southern United Empire as a representative of the southern technology hunters will be made public——"

"I thought we were just personal friends..."

"You know best whether it's a personal relationship or selfishness." Tianxin Lizheng said, "What's more, we can't have any friendship with someone like you."

"Don't speak so heartlessly," the guest smiled, but then changed the subject, "Although, I am actually the same."

Just as Tenshin Risei said, it is unimaginable that as the watchman of the technology hunters, he would actually be at the general's residence in Kaidun City; and what is equally unimaginable to outsiders is that he was having a back-and-forth conversation with Tenshin Risheng. , there is no inferiority complex like when facing an extremely powerful person, and they are still generally in the same position as equals.

Of course, if you carefully taste the guest's tone, you can still read some deeply hidden fears.

At this time, he also noticed that someone was rushing towards Li Zheng's mansion, with complete ceremonial guards and high status.

The guest stood up.

With his strength, it's not too late to leave at this time.

"Except for the transaction, I have one last question... In your current capacity, you are still just a pawn." Behind the guest, the young-looking general was still sitting on the futon. He spoke from a distance: "Then why, don't you want to do it?" Alke'.

The guest paused as he left.

Then he smiled and said:

"How tiring it is to be a sword master."

"and……"

"The black scratches are not Alke's black scratches...this place will always be my depression lagoon."

Listening to the voice, Tian Xinli turned around and looked around. The traces of the guest had completely disappeared, as if he had never been there in the first place.

Only the smoke in the sky was left.

Disturbance secretly.